Hi there everyone, I'm just wondering if anybody can offer me any kind of advice. So just to give a quick run down, diagnosed July 15 with mild crohns, September 15 got pregnant while still in a flare, January 16 hospitalised for 3 weeks with bad flare kicked up a fuss to go home to my children got home following week found a lump in my tummy which turns out to be an abdominal abscess and readmitted, very complicated with being pregnant (17 weeks) so try to treat it with antibiotics and hospitalised for another 3 weeks, heartbroken at this stage because already have 3 kids at home, sent home Feb with lots of antibiotics and monitored closely, week later collapse at home with sepsis and end up in ICU with severe sepsis, fistula, vre , e coli, and intestinal failure, 23 weeks at this stage and expected to lose baby but we pull through and released in March 16,april 16 fistula bursts through abdomen and have to wear a stoma bag to collect pus, diagnosed with gestational diabetes (sure why not lol) and daughter born at 34 weeks (happy and healthy now) brought in for bowel resection in November 16 and doing really well since. Now after all that you'd think I was just happy to be here but my weight is making me so depressed I look 6 months pregnant I was on pred from July 15 to August 16 then 15mg of hydrocortisone up until March 17, I have put on 42 pounds and I just feel that no matter what I do it won't shift, I walk every night, I've done marathons, I try to eat well and it just won't go away, is this normal? My daughter is 13 months now and resection was done 7 months ago so thought I would have seen a big improvement by now. I just don't feel like me anymore and I'm so paranoid about my face, legs, bum and belly,doesn't help a neighbour told me her stomach was huge like mine yesterday, I cried my eyes out when I got home. Any tips appreciated

No tips but I'm with you. I've had resection & 2 c sections & look 8 months pregnant on a daily basis 😞 it's awful. I have to wear extra big size bottoms cos of it, and although I'm over weight, I'm literally about 20lbs over weight so nothing major. The steroids make my face look like a moon so have swollen face & pregnant looking tummy. Oh the joys of this disease.....

Wowsers. Heartfelt congratulations on dd making it 34 weeks! You carried her through that ordeal ike a super trooper.

I'm in the fat belly club. It does bum me out, but I've got so much to balance that I have to cut myself a break.

I've found that -for me- trying very sudden or radical changes is a great way to feel rotten. I'm starting with keeping track of what I eat and when I eat it, and trying to get up and walk around more.

Prednisone puts extra weight on your belly. It shifts fat to your stomach as does pregnancy. I think you're dealing with a double whammy. I understand the desire to return to a body you recognize. This is an issue in so many ways with Crohn's. It you can run a marathon however you're strong and in great shape! I might consult your gynecologist about the effect of mommy hormones and prednisone together. I found hot water with a little apple cider vinegar helped me feel leaner as the wieght came off. Paddwack is right, be kind to yourself and go slow.

The first time I was on Prednisone, no one warned me that I would become ravenous. I put on a lot of weight. Exercise alone did not work for me. I started counting calories, first with MyFitnessPal, a free app. Then later with Fitbit. I took it slow, and managed to get to a normal range. This April I got put on Prednisone again, and gained 10 lbs that I haven't lost yet. Crash diets generally work for the short term, then you gain it all back once you start eating normally, so don't push yourself. Congrats on the baby, you're both doing ok and that is the main thing.

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Inflammatory bowel disease may more than double the risk of a serious blood clot in the legs or lungs.
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Prednisone puts extra weight on your belly. It shifts fat to your stomach as does pregnancy. I think you're dealing with a double whammy. I understand the desire to return to a body you recognize. This is an issue in so many ways with Crohn's. It you can run a marathon however you're strong and in great shape! I might consult your gynecologist about the effect of mommy hormones and prednisone together. I found hot water with a little apple cider vinegar helped me feel leaner as the weight came off. Paddwack is right, be kind to yourself and go slow.

Agreed. Looking at the saggy body in the mirror is dismal. I have a supportive spouse who is not put off by my aging chubby self, though. He's more concerned with my health and whether I'm taking care of myself.

I haven't tried the apple cider vinegar, but I've got friends who swear by it.

Thanks for the replies, I should have said that I also literally ate rings around myself while on pred! So that didn't help either, some days I think I shouldn't complain I'm doing well now I have my family etc, other days I just miss me if you know what I mean? When I say I did marathons I've done small ones like 10/20k and I most certainly didn't run them more half walked half jogged and pulled myself to the finish line lol, I used to run before getting sick so I'm trying to ease back into it and I find the couch to 5k app very good, I've basically just cut back on all the crap too, I also bought a bike the other day so I'm really determined, at this stage I just want to be in the best shape I can be especially if I get sick again. Hopefully we'll all have our own bellies back soon enough lol, I hate pred I really do not just from the weight gain but the increased appetite, the insomnia the mood swings etc and yet when I'm feeling absolutely horrific it's my best friend

Hi there everyone, I'm just wondering if anybody can offer me any kind of advice. So just to give a quick run down, diagnosed July 15 with mild crohns, September 15 got pregnant while still in a flare, January 16 hospitalised for 3 weeks with bad flare kicked up a fuss to go home to my children got home following week found a lump in my tummy which turns out to be an abdominal abscess and readmitted, very complicated with being pregnant (17 weeks) so try to treat it with antibiotics and hospitalised for another 3 weeks, heartbroken at this stage because already have 3 kids at home, sent home Feb with lots of antibiotics and monitored closely, week later collapse at home with sepsis and end up in ICU with severe sepsis, fistula, vre , e coli, and intestinal failure, 23 weeks at this stage and expected to lose baby but we pull through and released in March 16,april 16 fistula bursts through abdomen and have to wear a stoma bag to collect pus, diagnosed with gestational diabetes (sure why not lol) and daughter born at 34 weeks (happy and healthy now) brought in for bowel resection in November 16 and doing really well since. Now after all that you'd think I was just happy to be here but my weight is making me so depressed I look 6 months pregnant I was on pred from July 15 to August 16 then 15mg of hydrocortisone up until March 17, I have put on 42 pounds and I just feel that no matter what I do it won't shift, I walk every night, I've done marathons, I try to eat well and it just won't go away, is this normal? My daughter is 13 months now and resection was done 7 months ago so thought I would have seen a big improvement by now. I just don't feel like me anymore and I'm so paranoid about my face, legs, bum and belly,doesn't help a neighbour told me her stomach was huge like mine yesterday, I cried my eyes out when I got home. Any tips appreciated

I think our babies are about the same age. My little boy was born in April 2016!

You are amazing to have gone through everything you did for your little girl. Congrats!!!!

As for the preggo belly. I'm right there with you. I'm a runner, and I too have done marathons. I lost all the baby weight with my first two but I can't seem to make my preggo belly go away with this one (number three). I think the remicade (diagnosed in January, started treatment in February) is making me gain weight too! The nurse said my body is better absorbing the nutrients in the food I eat, so it's keeping food longer, thus reducing my metabolism :-(

I've been doing the beach body insanity workouts and trying to eat healthy with limited quantities. I feel like everywhere in my body is seeing results except for my belly. In fact I think I've started another flare up the last few days and my belly looks even bigger now.

So I don't really have an answer for you right now except to say I completely understand where you're coming from. Try to keep your chin up. I too look in the mirror and want to cry. I don't know what happened to my body. If things start to improve on my end I'll let you know. For now I say keep exercising/walking, because if anything it produces endorphins which makes you feel better mentally.